February 15, 2013

No, Republicans Will Not Support Expanded Pre-K

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David Brooks writes today that he’s a fan of President Obama’s initiative to expand pre-K education. Here’s his final paragraph:

President Obama has taken on a big challenge in a realistic and ambitious way. If Republicans really believe in opportunity and local control, they will get on board.

Needless to say, Brooks knows perfectly well that Republicans will never get on board with this. It costs money, it doesn’t benefit the rich, and it’s something Obama wants. That’s three strikes, and that’s all she wrote.

But Brooks keeps plugging away, appealing vainly to the obviously extinct better angels of their nature. I wonder what it’s like being stuck doing that twice a week for life?

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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